LOCTITE-LOCTITE-LOCTITE-ugh...

[akent]

Well, before I left my workshop last night I just wanted to hear the Exi spin up one more time.
I spun it up, it started vibrating briefly and then went BOOM!

The blades and blade holders went FLYING!!! Sent one blade into the side of the new aluminum box for the Exi T-450, and the other one just past my leg and into the wall. WOW! Them suckers move FAST when they fly off.

I had checked those head screws before, but it is obvious that they were not LOCTITED!!!!

This was on a Sonix head.

So, bottom line is, don't trust anything to have been loctited!

Man, I learned my lesson.

Oh, now I can't find the rubber dampers. I found the screws and bearings, luckily.
Kent

[19000rpm]

Boy aint that the truth.

Off topic: I'm looking for a sonix 450 tail assembly in natural (not blue) aluminum. 2 week wait at K-planes. Any sources kent?

Happy landings

[ranben]

Talk about flying daggers. Glad nothing hit you Kent.

[akent]

Feb 14, 2009 14:06:03 GMT -6 19000rpm said:

Boy aint that the truth.

Off topic: I'm looking for a sonix 450 tail assembly in natural (not blue) aluminum. 2 week wait at K-planes. Any sources kent?

Happy landings

www.cnchelicopter.com/servlet/the-1395/(hot)-sonix-3dx-hdx/Detail

There's a black one. I don't know about any natural colored versions.
Kent

[BTCat]

That's just plain scary, Kent. Did you feel like Travolta and Jackson in Pulp Fiction? (...bullets flying and none hitting...)

I broke the rules and carried my HBFP with the TX on and the battery plugged in. I have three whack marks and a cut to show for it. I could imagine what that beast would do.

[akent]

It WAS scary, BT!
And sorry to hear about your getting whupped by the HB! Ranben had that happen, too! I would NOT want to get whupped by a 450. I think these will remove limbs if spooled up.

Them blades were going where they were going FAST!

Today, while re-installing everything, I had found the thrust bearings, but after I looked at the Trex manual, I had lost the two main blade holder bearings and the two small aluminum shaft spacers.

Well, bummer. I then took apart the original Exi head and stole those parts from it. They fit like a glove, so it's back together now. It's funny how small parts like that just disappear. I'm sure I'll find them someday in the sweepings.

The interesting thing is, the Exi head IS all loctited. That's great news for anyone getting an Exi.

This was the ONLY part of the head that I didn't disassemble before to add loctite, when I got it. Nothing else had any either, though.

Also, the blade holders must have been coming loose for a while. It had been funny feeling lately, but I attributed that to the new DX7 radio setup.

Now, it's solid as a rock again.

Funny how those things happen.
Kent

[beedm]

Spinning up my 450 Belt w/o the blades installed (the only smart thing done) the screw that holds the control rod at the t/r backed out because of lack of loc-tite. When that happened, the tail rotor at full speed by now went to the stop and the tail of the heli starts to go. This is on top of my work bench...so, I grabbed fot the tail rotor ant the boom forgetting that there was c/f blades on there. I bled for a few hours and the ER was discussed but using one of their tricks (and this is the truth, it works) I dabbed superglue to close the cuts and wrapped.

All for a quick, put it together and see if it works, then go back and finish. That was a while back. I've been pretty cdareful lately.

[fergie]

i'm glad you didn't get hit by one of those kent that would have sucked. but anyway i have a buddy into heli's he's a pretty experienced guy, but he's got everything loctighted (and checks regularly) he said the only ones that ever come loose on him are the bolts on the inside of the blade grips even though they are loctighted. just some food for thought.

[akent]

OUCH Beedm!
The tail on these things is actually way more scary, when you think about it.
With a 4.3 ratio on the 450, and the main rotor spinning at 2,500 rpm, the tail is spinning at almost 11,000 rpm!!! That's a dam serious saw!
Sorry to hear about your 'heli wound'!

I lost my right pinky that was cut off by a .40 nitro plane many years ago, while I was adjusting the carb at full throttle that is right there near the prop. Yeah, you have to do that with nitro motors!
It was just a stupid movement that I made, when the plane moved a little from the power. I didn't even hear or feel anything and then saw red stuff everywhere.
It was hanging by some skin, though. They asked me if I wanted to try to save that finger at the hospital. I said yes, if possible. A little Chinese surgeon then came into the emergency room and glued it back together right there. The bone was shattered into many pieces, and all the nerves and vessels were cut. It took him about two hours to do with a microscope. It was fascinating to watch him working on it. He glued all the pieces back, and after a year, it worked again! It's a lot shorter than my other pinky, but hey, it works, but has little to no feeling in it. I need my pinky to type, as I'm an engineer. It is a little on the fugly side, but that's ok.

Please be careful with these things!
Kent

[akent]

Feb 14, 2009 20:07:06 GMT -6 fergie said:

i'm glad you didn't get hit by one of those kent that would have sucked. but anyway i have a buddy into heli's he's a pretty experienced guy, but he's got everything loctighted (and checks regularly) he said the only ones that ever come loose on him are the bolts on the inside of the blade grips even though they are loctighted. just some food for thought.

Thanks Fergie. That's something for us all to check regularly.
Good info.
Thanks!
Kent

[beedm]

It was hanging by some skin, though. They asked me if I wanted to try to save that finger at the hospital. I said yes, if possible. A little Chinese surgeon then came into the emergency room and glued it back together right there.

Well, we know were he got his experience from with so many China Helicopter companies ;D

If I have to spin up a T/R for maintenance, the blades come off.

Hey Fergie....whats up

Kent, we always have to learn most things the hard way. Although this bunch of people have save a few stiches.

[fergie]

Feb 14, 2009 20:22:30 GMT -6 akent said:

Feb 14, 2009 20:07:06 GMT -6 fergie said:

i'm glad you didn't get hit by one of those kent that would have sucked. but anyway i have a buddy into heli's he's a pretty experienced guy, but he's got everything loctighted (and checks regularly) he said the only ones that ever come loose on him are the bolts on the inside of the blade grips even though they are loctighted. just some food for thought.

Thanks Fergie. That's something for us all to check regularly.
Good info.
Thanks!
Kent

glad i could help kent

[fergie]

Feb 14, 2009 20:30:08 GMT -6 beedm said:

It was hanging by some skin, though. They asked me if I wanted to try to save that finger at the hospital. I said yes, if possible. A little Chinese surgeon then came into the emergency room and glued it back together right there.

Well, we know were he got his experience from with so many China Helicopter companies ;D

If I have to spin up a T/R for maintenance, the blades come off.

Hey Fergie....whats up

Kent, we always have to learn most things the hard way. Although this bunch of people have save a few stiches.

hey beedm, how are ya?

[19000rpm]

Sure makes you think twice about hovering your heli at eye level a few feet from your face.

Happy landings

[akent]

That's the truth, 19k!!

And to think, I'm usually hovering from waist to eye level most of the time! A little Spooky.
Kent